From pearlescent and iridescent coatings to highly accurate color-matching tools to programmable, color-changing LED lights, color is taking on a bigger and increasingly high-tech role on building projects.
The widespread growth of colorized materials—from metal wall and roof panels to glass and glazing systems, to metal mesh assemblies—and the availability of custom colors across a broad range of product lines have provided architects and designers with almost limitless options for exterior and interior design projects.
Technology tools like 3D modeling software and color-matching apps have taken much of the guesswork out of evaluating colors and color palettes for building design projects. And advances in manufacturing—from new textile printing methods to novel coating formulations—are leading to breakthroughs in hues, patterns, textures, and special effects in colorized materials and finishes.
Given the “color craze” in architecture, it is no surprise that most design professionals believe that color plays a more-critical role in today’s building design projects than those from a decade ago.
Findings from BD+C's 2020 Color Trends Report
Two-thirds of architects, interior designers, and color experts surveyed between December 2019 and March 2020 by Building Design+Construction for the 2020 Color Trends Survey said that color on design projects (interior spaces and exterior design) is more important today than it was a decade ago. And fewer than 2% believe color is less important.
The growth in demand for color in the commercial, institutional, and multifamily building sectors is being driven by several converging trends. For one, clients are more willing to accept risk and variation on their projects, according to survey respondents.
“Especially for interiors, the story told by a color palette is crucial to creating an experience that can be differentiated from the norm,” said one architect respondent.
The rising cost of materials and construction is another important consideration: “Color is one of the easiest ways to add impact for the least amount of cost, thus more important today with the rising costs of everything.”
The final PDF report of BD+C's 2020 Color Trends Survey includes data on:
- Innovations in color and colorized materials
- Specification trends in color and colorized materials
- Source of color expertise and inspiration in design firms
- The importance of color on today's building projects (interior and exterior applications)
- The importance of color in 2020 vs. 2010
- Reasons for the change in the importance of color on building projects
- Use of special effect coatings
- Biggest innovations in color related to interior or exterior building design
Download the 2020 Color Trends Survey report (short registration required)
Special thanks to Sherwin-Williams Coil Coatings
for their support of this BD+C editorial research project.
More at coil.sherwin.com.
Related Stories
| May 1, 2014
Chinese spec 'world's fastest' elevators for supertall project
Hitachi Elevator Co. will build and install 95 elevators—including two that the manufacturer labels as the "world's fastest"—for the Kohn Pedersen Fox-designed Guangzhou CTF Finance Center.
| Apr 30, 2014
Visiting Beijing's massive Chaoyang Park Plaza will be like 'moving through a urban forest'
Construction work has begun on the 120,000-sm mixed-use development, which was envisioned by MAD architects as a modern, urban forest.
| Apr 29, 2014
Best of Canada: 12 projects nab nation's top architectural prize [slideshow]
The conversion of a Mies van der Rohe-designed gas station and North Vancouver City Hall are among the recently completed projects to win the 2014 Governor General's Medal in Architecture.
| Apr 29, 2014
USGBC launches real-time green building data dashboard
The online data visualization resource highlights green building data for each state and Washington, D.C.
| Apr 29, 2014
Big U in the Big Apple: New design to protect New York City's coastline
Bjarke Ingels' proposed design for the Rebuild by Design competition adapts a key design principle in ship building to improve urban flood protection.
| Apr 28, 2014
Welcome to the Hive: OVA designs wild shipping container hotel for competition
Hong Kong-based OVA envisions a shipping-container hotel, where rooms could be removed at will and designed by advertisers.
Smart Buildings | Apr 28, 2014
Cities Alive: Arup report examines latest trends in urban green spaces
From vertical farming to glowing trees (yes, glowing trees), Arup engineers imagine the future of green infrastructure in cities across the world.
| Apr 25, 2014
How the 'digital natives' will transform your Building Team
The newest generation to enter the workforce is like no other that has come before it. This cohort is the first to grow up with the Internet, mobile technologies, and an “always connected” lifestyle.
| Apr 25, 2014
A radiant barrier FAQ: Everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask
There are many examples of materials developed for the space program making their way into everyday life and radiant barriers are just that. SPONSORED CONTENT
| Apr 25, 2014
6 winners selected for the Architectural League Prize
The Architectural League Prize, created in 1981, "recognizes exemplary and provocative work by young practitioners and provides a public forum for the exchange of their ideas," according to The Architectural League.